Month: November 2016

My Reaction to the Election

paris22Leave a comment

(Written the morning after the election, 6:40 am, November 9th, 2016)

Confused. Worried. Scared.

Those were the emotions I felt when I woke up this morning, and the first thing I did was google which candidate won the election.

I went to bed early last night and did not keep up with the polls out of fear and worry. When I first woke up, I was hopeful, I did not see any messages screaming in all caps that Donald Trump won. I thought, maybe Hillary pulled through. When the google results came up, it felt as though everything shifted. I started crying, yes, heavy, non-stop tears. My view of this whole country came tumbling down.

I never thought it would come to this, I never thought Trump would actually win. I had some faith in the people of America. Well, most of that faith is gone now.

Protests Against Trump Winning — Photo Credit: LA Times

I’m scared. For my rights, for my body’s rights, for the rights of women everywhere.

I’m scared. For the racial minorities that Trump targets, for their freedom and rights in this country.

I’m scared. For the future immigrants coming into this country, seeking solace from their own, to be denied and rejected, because of our new, intolerant president.

I’m scared. For all the people Donald Trump has promised to deport and keep out.

I’m scared. For the LGBT community. Mike Pence is now Vice President, he supports gay conversion therapy, and it has been announced that Trump will be an anti-LGBT president.

I’m scared. For anyone who is considered a minority, for anyone who is considered less than a person to Trump, for anyone who is judged or generalized by the color of their skin, their religion, where they come from, their gender, their sexuality, or anything else Donald Trump may view as “wrong” or “bad”.

With Donald Trump as President, this is not the “Land of the Free”, but the land of the oppressed.

What does it take to be a lacrosse goalie?

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Photo Credit: syracuse.com

Lacrosse. A sport that was played by the Native Americans. A sport that solves the problems of war. Instead of killing each other with swords and bows, many chose to play the game of lacrosse. (The solution of the problem would be decided by the winner of the game.) Since then, lacrosse has evolved into a modern sport, although it is not as popular as American football or basketball. Lacrosse industries have seen immense growth in the sport in the past ten years.

There is one specific position in lacrosse that requires the player to have a tough mentality, and good reaction: the goalie. If you think hockey goalies have it tough, imagine guarding a six-by-six foot goal with almost no body protection. Considering that the shots are usually taken five or ten yards out, an 80 mph condensed rubber ball no smaller than a baseball is flying towards you. Knowing that you only have a helmet, chest pad, gloves, and a stick with a net on it, would you stop it or would you get out of the way? The feeling of hot rubber scrapes your legs as you try to stop it, and it burns. Are you able to picture being in that position?

I started my lacrosse career in my 8th grade year at Ojai Valley School. Since then, I have fallen in love with the sport. At the beginning, I was introduced to the goalie position when some of my friends encouraged me to try it out and see if I liked it.

I had no idea that the position I was about to take was one that is high risk and requires a tough mentality. It was tough start to a new sport that I had never even heard of and had never even seen. My coach saw my potential in the position as well as my teammates and friends. With their encouragement, I continued and persevered. I played throughout middle school, and continued playing at the high school level.

There were not a lot of injuries during my 8th grade year, but playing at the high school level, I have suffered injuries to my knees, ears, and more. I have realized the sacrifices I have to make in order for my team to win and for me to be a successful goalie. Now I am a senior in high school and a team captain. After multiple losses and meltdowns in past seasons, I finally realize and understand what it takes for a person to be successful in a position as tough as lacrosse goalie.

So, are you tough enough to try the position out?

A Penny for Your Consent

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BuzzFeed is known for its clickbait and quirky news updates. But, occasionally they use their large following for good use. A video titled “Would You Steal $5?” is a perfect example of that good-doing. A simple message is put across as it begins: “What is considered stealing?” The narrator lists different scenarios in which someone has $5, and each scenario shows another situation classified as stealing. But at the end, it’s revealed that the $5 is a symbol for consent. In simpler terms, without consent you are stealing from someone.

What is consent? Most claim to know the answer, but in reality, not many do. Consent is defined as permission for something to happen or agreement to do something. Mostly, consent refers to situations involving any romantic or sexual interactions. It seems simple enough, if one or both members aren’t up to doing something, then both have to accept that they shouldn’t be doing whatever that is. Yet somehow, rape and sexual violence is still all too common.

No one knows the severity of rape culture. On average, 288,820 people are raped annually in the U.S. alone. That is one person every 2 minutes. That number surely disgusts many, yet rape is still a taboo subject. Why is it that consent isn’t taught at all schools? Sex Ed is only mandatory in 24 states, and not all of those have to teach consent. No wonder the headlines are filled with reports of rape and violence against women and men.

Consent is honestly so simple. If you or your partner is uncomfortable, drunk, unready, or unwilling, don’t have sex! If someone says no to any activity, don’t do it! It’s simple, really.

Watch the BuzzFeed video below:

Queen Bey Stings Again

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On November 2, the 2016 Country Music Awards were held. Usually filled with the many familiar faces of country music, this awards show’s 50th year was different. In a surprise performance, Beyoncé, accompanied by the Dixie Chicks, shocked fans with a performance of her song “Daddy Lessons.”

Photo Credit: http://www.billboard.com

This performance didn’t come without controversy, however. It surprised many that Beyoncé, usually an R&B artist, would even release a song like “Daddy Lessons.” The song itself has been hotly debated on whether or not it should even be considered as country. This debate intensified when the song wasn’t nominated for the CMA’s song of the year, causing an uproar from the Beyhive, Beyoncé’s fan base. Whatever your opinion may be on the song, one thing is certain: Beyoncé knows how to change things up.

Her career started when she was in Destiny’s Child. She left her Texan girl group behind and started her affluent solo career 20 years ago. Throughout her time in the music industry, her voice and style have changed immensely. She’s shifted between R&B, pop, and now, is dabbling in country. Her song “Daddy Lessons” is rich with new instruments and its lively tempo is something the Beyhive has never heard from their favorite artist. She continues to shake up Hollywood with her cryptic songs and surprise albums.

On Wednesday night, Beyoncé’s performance just reinforced her skills. She transgressed through genres, something that not many artists know how to do. Her first country song was performed at a country awards show. With many different options, the show’s curators chose her, as unlikely she may be for the position. She didn’t disappoint, as shown by the audience’s loud cheering at this unique performance. So, whether or not you like Beyoncé or her work, there is no denying she knows how to shift between genres of music.

Sunday Nights

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What’s worse than Sunday?

The impending doom of Monday morning lurking around the corner, homework piling up by the minute.

How about waking up on Sunday and thinking it’s Saturday? The stomach drop when your phone blinks with “Sunday” is the equivalent of reading the saddest book ever, twice.

And, even though Sunday mornings are bad, nothing is worse than Sunday night.

Sweet Dreams Please!
Photo Credit: EduinReview.com

And don’t even get me started on Monday mornings.

Seeing Her

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The first time he saw her was in an airport. A Petri dish of festering emotion and sickening crowds. He’d caught a wisp of her trailing at the corner of his vision, it was only a glimpse, but as he straightened himself back to forward, he knew she wasn’t just a figment of his travel addled mind. As he took a breath and grabbed his bag, a woman in a tight pencil skirt and a ponytail that seemed to pull at even her toes, came and rammed into him, sending him rocking back onto his heels, his brain rattling around like a drunk entering a dark apartment.

He continued toward his connection flight. Through the stifling heat and the crying couples, the chauffeurs with the fancy polysyllabic names spewed across expensive card stock, the pilots walking around with more purpose in their gaze than the entirety of the travelers bulging around them. The click of heels, the swish of slippers and everything fuzzy. He hated flying. He hated the people rushing around like plague bacteria happy to infect the next and the next. He wished he had a storm of anesthetic to clear away the sappy couples, the reuniting, the departing, the people too important to even breathe.

The people with screaming kids were especially bad this time. He flew all the time. He flew in winter. He flew in summer. He flew in spring and sometimes he even flew in autumn. He found his terminal, it was crowded, with lines already formed and spilling out into the walkways. Making irritable people even more irate.

“No Todd I told you it was 6:30. How long has my mom been stuck in JFK?” A pause. “No Todd it’s not okay, it’s not okay at all. She’s eighty! And she’s been stuck in JFK for five hours!”

Now there. There is a relationship that is moving fast, slipping down a slippery slope. It’ll be done in three months tops. He put an earbud in and turned his attention to another airport conversation. His own.

“No, mom, it was delayed. I’m still in Dallas.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes I’ll make it back in time.” It was getting dark. His head was rattling with every breath he took. “Thanks, bye mom, I love you.” He was going to hang up before she said anything else. He did.

He could psychoanalyze himself, he was cynical, very much stuck, but he wasn’t going to do that. There was no fun in that.

Photo Credit: The Telegraph – Rex Features

There was a blip. It seemed as if someone had set the world back a half-minute or badly spliced an old movie together. He blinked. Pursed his lips to one side. That was definitely sleep deprivation and yet, there, there was that baby’s cry again. He inclined his head toward the sound but it was gone, lost in the cacophony of other airport noises. He turned back to forward, only to move six inches forward and hit another abrupt stop. He really hated airports. He ran a hand through his hair making a bad situation worse.

“Oh for God’s sake, how long can this take?” A stranger breathes out. He was a small wiry man with the barrel chest of a Doberman pincer. A contradiction in every sense of the word. The man was innately untrustworthy in his eyes, yet somehow he couldn’t help but agree with the man, a vaguely troubling notion. He shoved the other earbud in, content to cease in his airport judging.

By the time he reached the back of the plane he had exhausted all of his music, which wasn’t saying much. He had very little music, and even less photos. He didn’t have much of anything on his phone, in fact.

He was in the farthest row back, cramped by the window, stuck between life-preserving plastic and the man with the dog’s chest. He could feel it, this flight was going to be obscenely long.

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

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Have you heard of hand, foot, and mouth disease? I’m from Japan, and there it’s called 手足口病, meaning exactly “hand, foot, and mouth disease.”  手=hand, 足=foot, 口=mouth, and 病=disease.

This disease was very famous in Japan, because we learned in history class that it was a dangerous disease that killed a lot of people in the past. My Chinese friend told me that it was famous in China too, and that it killed a lot of people there.

This virus is currently going around Ojai, but it’s mild and no one has died from it. In our school, since it’s a boarding school, it has spread very quickly. I googled this disease and found out that it’s more common among young children, not teenagers. It’s very odd that it is going around OVS and Ojai.

When it was spreading around the most, we had parents here for family weekend, meaning that parents came to our campus. Our school has students from all over the world, so parents from China, Japan, Germany, and many more places came. In the near future, if we hear that these countries are getting the disease, sadly it might have come from Ojai.

Photo Credit: http://www.zdnet.com

Vote!

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This weekend, I voted as an American citizen for the first time in my life.

I was with my family in a restaurant when I was filling out the ballot. The waitress saw me voting, and came over to our table and started talking to us about her opinion. She told us she wasn’t voting because she didn’t like either one of the candidates. She said that a woman should not be a president because women are emotional, and that Trump is crazy.

Photo Credit: http://www.theodysseyonline.com

If I only had the information she had, I would probably choose not vote either. But we need to really do our own research and get the right information, so we can make intelligent and informed decisions about who to vote for. Every vote counts and our future is in our hands. We cannot let a single vote go to waste. So please everyone, if you are eligible, please VOTE!

Virus Found

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In the 21st century, digital security has been one of the weakest points in countries and companies worldwide. Digital security has been emphasized during this Presidential race, with Hillary Clinton’s emails being leaked. But just how far can the U.S. implement digital security? The answer is bleak, with billions of devices connected to the Internet constantly, and with little to no security being applied to the majority of these DVRs and routers. This mass of technology with no security has been the worry of many computer experts.

 
These worries were fulfilled on October 21st, when a massive attack brought down a large company that monitors and routes Internet traffic called Dyn. With the fall of Dyn came the fall of Netflix, Twitter, and Etsy as well, for a few hours.

 
This attack was coordinated by using thousands of hijacked devices that spewed millions of nonsensical, invalid messages on the servers overloading them. This attack is known as DDoSing. These attacks will only become more often and voracious with a new software that’s becoming global.

Photo Credit: welivsecurity.com

(Here are the regions of the U.S. most heavily impacted.)

A botnet-creating software called Mirai was used to create this massive attack. Mirai first infects the home computer through emails, and from there spreads throughout all devices connected to the router, and these viruses remain in the hijacked devices. Even if the virus is deleted from your computer, there may still be dormant viruses across the house, waiting for a command.

Now, major websites have crashed, and there seems to be very little stopping this new charge of infection and DDoSing. Major companies have already recalled some devices that have minimum security, but there still remains many more devices defenseless. The rush to keep up with technology and stay ahead of viruses and attacks will be the largest struggle this coming century. This may just be the start of more problems demanding new solutions.

East Coast Weather vs. West Coast Weather

paris22Leave a comment
Winter in Los Angeles — Photo Credit: ImMovingtoLA
Winter in Washington D.C. — Photo Credit: HostelsClub

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is almost Halloween, Thanksgiving is only a month away, and fall has technically been in full swing since September 22. Yet, last week it was almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts of Southern California. Spud Fest happened last week at OVS and it was hot enough for people to be wishing they were in the dunk tank or the pool. At the end of Spud Fest, some students were so tired of the heat they had the remaining water and ice from the ice chests dumped onto them.

For some, 2/3 of the year being summer, and the rest being an awkward mix of cold and warm is heaven. But for those who live for the cold, the Southern California fall and winter seasons are not ideal. Currently, the weather in New York City and Washington D.C. is ranging from 50-60 degrees, with rain. Hopefully, Southern California will catch up soon.